1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for producing polypeptides. The present invention also relates to isolated promoters and to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the promoters operably linked to polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides.
2. Description of the Related Art
The recombinant production of a polypeptide in a fungal host cell, e.g., a filamentous fungal cell, may provide for a more desirable vehicle for producing the polypeptide in commercially relevant quantities.
Recombinant production of a polypeptide is accomplished by constructing an expression cassette in which the DNA coding for the polypeptide is placed under the expression control of a promoter, excised from a gene, suitable for the host cell. The expression cassette is introduced into the host cell, usually by plasmid-mediated transformation. Production of the polypeptide is then achieved by culturing the transformed host cell under inducing conditions necessary for the proper functioning of the promoter contained on the expression cassette.
The use of a fungal host cell for the recombinant production of polypeptides generally requires the availability of promoters that are suitable for controlling the expression of the polypeptides in the host cell. Consequently, there is a need in the art for new promoters for controlling the recombinant expression of genes.
The present invention provides improved methods for producing a polypeptide in a fungal host cell.